A little bit about us

The Musicians of All Saints perform contemporary classical music by living composers and 20th century composers whose work deserves a second hearing.

We are a Lewes-based chamber orchestra of professional musicians dedicated to the presentation of both new and unusual works together with a standard repertoire of better-known pieces. We began in 1987 as The Orchestra of All Saints, changing to our present name in 1991. By then we were presenting numerous chamber and orchestral concerts, and the name ‘Musicians of All Saints’ better reflected the variety of works we were undertaking.

Under the inspiring direction of Andrew Sherwood, the Musicians have proved that enthusiastic audiences exist for challenging and unusual programmes, and that successful concerts do not depend solely on offering a 'safe' repertoire consisting only of well-known pieces. .Our annual seasons of six concerts are themed either around individual composers, such as Stravinsky, Panufnic, Britten, Bach and Vaughan Williams, or on specific regions which have included Sussex, Eastern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula and the U.S.A. In addition, we present two candlelit concerts in Old Hamsey Church on the second and third Sundays in June.

We have commissioned new works from composers including Doina Rotaru, Dudley Hyams, Peta Crompton, Michael Finnissy and Peter Copley. The mixture of work we handle makes us unique in the South East of England and in recognition of our innovative approach to programming, the Musicians received a special award from the Performing Rights Society.

We get around too, have performed in Sweden, Romania, France and the island of Ouessant.